What to do during a boil water advisory in Missouri

Follow the notice from your water system. Use bottled water, or boil your tap water before you drink it, cook with it or brush your teeth. A water softener or home filter does not make the water safe during an advisory.

Do

• Follow your water system's notice.
• Boil tap water or use bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth.
• Let boiled water cool before you use it.

Do not

• Rely on a softener, pitcher or home filter instead of boiling.
• Use water or ice from a refrigerator dispenser.
• Assume it is over before your water system says so.

Boil order or boil advisory

Missouri uses two terms. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources explains them this way:

• A boil water order is issued by the department "when a threat to the public health exists, or is likely to exist, that boiling the water will remedy."
• A boil water advisory is one a water system may issue "as a precautionary measure when there is concern that a problem with drinking water may exist, but it has not yet been confirmed." These usually follow a water main break or a loss of pressure.

Treat both the same way until your water system says it is over.

How long to boil

Go by the time in your water system's notice. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says affected consumers should boil their drinking water for three to five minutes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says to bring water to a full rolling boil for 1 minute. Let it cool before you use it.

Do filters or softeners make the water safe?

No. A softener removes hardness minerals. A carbon filter improves taste and smell. Neither one disinfects water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says: "Boil your tap water even if you filter it."

We will never tell you that a system we sell replaces boiling during an advisory.

Other things to know

• Do not use water or ice from a refrigerator dispenser during an advisory.
• Brush your teeth with boiled or bottled water.
• Laundry is fine to do as usual.
• When the advisory ends, follow your water system's instructions before you go back to normal use.

Where to check

• Your water system's website or notice. It is the first and best source.
• Current boil water orders, Missouri Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.mo.gov/water/alerts-hazards/boil-orders (this list does not include precautionary advisories).
• Drinking water advisories, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/water-emergency/about/drinking-water-advisories-an-overview.html

Quotes read on the two pages above on November 9, 2026. This page is general information, not official guidance. Your water system's notice comes first.

Questions about your water once the advisory is over? Call or text 636-328-7944.